Ladder locking assembly

ABSTRACT

An inexpensive rapidly attachable, detachable and rapidly adjustable locking assembly for combining with a ladder for locking the ladder in place at any desired position against a structure and thereby prevent injurious ladder slippage during use. The locking assembly is particularly suitable for a ladder of the type having two sides with each side having a pair of rails and web therebetween in substantially the cross sectional form of an I beam and hollow rungs with each of the rung ends fixed to the respective adjacent web. The locking assembly has a metal rod extending through one of the hollow rungs with the rod ends projecting beyond the sides of the ladder, a spacer on each of the ends of the metal rod rest against the outside of the web and project beyond each of the sides of the ladder to form a base for a bracket fixed to each of the metal rod ends, each bracket having an eye bolt, a pair of substantially equal length rods for each of the brackets, each of the equal length rods having a hook at one end and screw threads a substantial distance along the respective rod at the other end, the threads on one of the equal length rods being right hand and on the other being left hand and screwed into opposed ends of a turnbuckle having a length approximately equal to the combined length of the screw thread portions on the associated equal length rods, and an eye formation for each of the ladder sides adapted for attaching to the structure against which the ladder is to be locked in place and adapted for receiving the hook on the other of the turnbuckle rods.

United States Patent [1 1 Phelan [4 1 Sept. 9, 1975 LADDER LOCKINGASSEMBLY [22] Filed: June 24, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 482,429

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No.382,033, Oct. 29,

1973, abandoned.

Primary ExaminerReinaldo P. Machado Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Walter J.Kreske [57] ABSTRACT An inexpensive rapidly attachable, detachable andrapidly adjustable locking assembly for combining with a ladder forlocking the ladder in place at any desired position against a structureand thereby prevent injurious ladder slippage during use. The lockingassembly is particularly suitable for a ladder of the type having twosides with each side having a pair of rails and web therebetween insubstantially the cross sectional form of an I beam and hollow rungswith each of the rung ends fixed to the respective adjacent web. 'Thelocking assembly has a metal rod extending through one of the hollowrungs with the rod ends projecting beyond the sides of the ladder, aspacer on each of the ends of the metal rod rest against the outside ofthe web and project beyond each of the sides of the ladder to form abase for a bracket fixed to each of the metal rod ends, each brackethaving an eye bolt, a pair of substantially equal length rods for eachof the brackets, each of the equal length rods having a hook at one endand screw threads a substantial distance along the respective rod at theother end, the threads on one of the equal length rods being right handand on the other being left hand and screwed into opposed ends of aturnbuckle having a length approximately equal to the combined length ofthe screw thread portions on the associated equal length rods, and aneye formation for each of the ladder sides adapted for attaching to thestructure against which the ladder is to be locked in place and adaptedfor receiving the hook on the other of the turnbuckle rods.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures LADDER LOCKING ASSEMBLY This is acontinuation-in-part application of application Ser. No. 382,033, filedOct. 29, 1973, which has been abandoned in favor of thiscontinuation-in-part application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to device for holdingladders in place to prevent injurious slippage during use, and moreparticularly to an inexpensive, rapidly attachable, detachable andrapidly adjustable locking assembly for combining with a ladder forlocking the ladder in place to a structure where the ladder is to beused and is characterized by a pair of brackets with one of the bracketsbeing fixed in place at one side of the ladder and the other of the pairof brackets being fixed in place at the other side of the ladder, aturnbuckle for each of the brackets, each turnbuckle having opposed endsand carrying in each end an elongated turnbuckle rod, one of the rods ofeach turnbuckle being adapted for fastening to the bracket at theassociated side of the ladder, and a configuration for rapid manualattachment and detachment of the other rod of each of the tumbuckles tothe structure to which the ladder is to be locked.

The invention is particularly applicable to conventional aluminum ormagnesium ladders of the type where each of the ladder sides iscomprised of a pair of rails and connecting web therebetween insubstantially the cross sectional form of an I beam and having hollowrungs with each of the rung ends fixed to the adjacent web, for whichtype the invention includes a bracket rod of sufficiently small crosssectional dimension for placement inside the hollow of one of the rungsand of a length that the ends of the bracket rod protrude from therespective sides of the ladder and are adapted for fastening thebrackets in place at the respective sides of the ladder.

An eye bolt on each of the brackets and an associated hook on the end ofone of the rods of each of the tumbuckles for hooking onto theassociated eye formation are provided for achieving a rapid manualattaching and detaching arrangement.

A spacer is provided between each bracket and adjacent web to reduce thesize of the brackets and increase the versatility of the invention.

Another hook on the end of the other rod of each of the tumbuckles, andan associated eye formation adapted for fixing to the structure to whichthe ladder is to be locked are provided for achieving a further simpleand rapid manual attaching and detaching arrangement for locking theladder in place.

Turnbuckles of about inches in length and turnbuckle rods with screwthreads extending over about a 10 inch portion of each turnbuckle rodare found to provide a wide versatility and convenience in applicationof the invention to locking ladders in place.

Ladder fastening arrangements such as disclosed in Pat. No. 1,066,892inherently requires the user to risk climbing an unfastened ladder formaking the fastening installation. Also the fastening arrangement iscumbersome on the time involved for its installation and thus notsuitable for most ladder applications which are transitory and of shortduration.

Also, the turnbuckles and adjustable arm arrangements disclosed in Pat.Nos. 14,156 and 1,279,299 are for scaffoldings which by inherentconfiguration are installations of relatively long duration and do notteach applicability to transient and short duration uses, acharacteristic of most ladder use. Nor even if combined with the ladderof Pat. No. 1,066,892 do they teach the locking of a ladder in placewithout the need for first risking the climbing of an unfastened ladder.

The present invention constitutes a significant advance in the art inthat Applicants ladder locking assembly not only achieves an arrangementfor locking a ladder in place without the need for first climbing theladder while it is still unfastened, but also achieves a structure whichmay be rapidly attached and detached so as to make it convenient anddesirable for even transitory and short term uses of a ladder to avoidinjurious slipping of the ladder.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providea ladder locking assembly which may be used to lock a ladder in placewithout the need for climbing the ladder while still unfastened.

Another object is the provision of a ladder locking assembly whichinherently lends itself to rapid attachment and detachment from thestructure at which the ladder is being used to thereby provideconvenience and safety for even transitory and short term uses of theladder.

And a further object is the provision of a ladder locking assembly whichis particularly applicable to conventional aluminum and magnesiumladders.

Further objects include the provision of a ladder locking assembly whichis relatively inexpensive to manufacture, lends itself to massproduction, and is relatively simple in construction and operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A ladder locking assembly in accordance withthe present invention includes in combination a pair of brackets, astructure for fixing one of the brackets in place at one side of theladder and the other bracket in place at the other side of the ladder, aturnbuckle for each of the brackets and having opposed ends carrying ineach respective turnbuckle end an elongated turnbuckle rod, one of therods for each turnbuckle being adapted for fastening to the bracket at arespective one of the ladder sides, and a fastener for rapid manualattachment and detachment of the other rod of each of the tumbuckles tothe structure to which the ladder is to be locked. I

For conventional aluminum and magnesium ladders where each of the sideshave a pair of rails and connecting web therebetween in the crosssectional form of substantially an I beam and hollow rungs with endsfixed to the adjacent web, the structure for fixing the brackets inplace includes a bracket rod having two ends and of a cross sectionaldimension for placing in the hollow of one of the rungs and being of alength such that the ends protrude from the respective sides of theladder and are adapted for fastening the brackets in place at therespective sides of the ladder.

To reduce the size of each of the brackets and increase the versatilityof the ladder locking assembly, a spacer is provided between eachbracket and adjacent web to form a base against which the respectivebracket is fixed.

Rapid manual attachment and detachment is achieved by making thefastener arrangement in the form of an eye formation attachable to thestructure on which the ladder is to be used, and providing a hook on theother rod of each of the tumbuckles for hooking onto such an eyeformation for each of said other turnbuckle rods.

A similar eye formation on each of the brackets and a hook formation onthe one rod of each of the turnbuckles provides a rapid attachment anddetachment configuration at'the respective bracket.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features of the invention which arebelieved to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appendedclaims. The invention, together with the features, ob jects andadvantages thereof will be better understood from the followingdescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which likereference numbers identify like components and in which FIG. 1 is a sideelevational view of fragmentary portions of a conventional extensionladder and building illustrating representative levels at which theladder may be fixed in place to the building by a preferred embodimentof the present ladder locking asembly invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of fragmentary por tions of the FIG.1 illustration;

FIGS. 3 is a side view to enlarged scale of a portion of a preferredembodiment of the ladder locking assembly invention shown fastened atone end to a portion of the sill appearing in FIGS. 1 and 2 and theother end fastened to a portion of the ladder appearing in FIGS. 1 and2;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the FIG. 3 illustratio taken on line 4-4 ofFIG. 3 with only a portion of the ladder rung shown in cross section.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Three ladder lockingassemblies in accordance with the present invention are designatedgenerally by the numerals 10, 12 and 14 respectively in FIGS. 1 and 2 toillustrate different representative levels at which a conventionalextension ladder 16 may be effectively locked to a building 18 such as ahouse to prevent injurious ladder slippage during use. Any one of theladder locking assemblies 10, 12 or 14 is sufficient for securelyholding the ladder 16 in place of normal use. The illustrated levels atwhich the locking assemblies and 12 appear have the desirablecharacteristic of being attachable and detachable without the need forfirst climbing the ladder 16 as will be hereinafter further described.

The construction of components of each of the three ladder lockingassemblies l0, l2 and 14 are similar and thus for convenience inillustration will be described in more detail with respect to the ladderlocking assembly 10, one leg 20 of which is shown in enlarged scale inFIGS. 3 and 4. The ladder locking assembly leg 20 has an L shapedbracket 22, one leg 24 of which is at one end of a bracket rod 25 on oneside 26 of the bottom section 28 of the ladder 16. The bracket rod 25extends through a hole (not shown) in the bracket leg 24 and through thehollow 30 of a hollow rung 32 and projects beyond the other side 34(FIG. 2) of the ladder 16.

where it extends through another bracket 36 (FIG. 2) similar to thebracket 22. A spacer 38 is placed between the bracket leg 24 and a web40 which connects a pair of rails 42 and 44 in substantially the crosssectional form of an I beam to form the side 26 of the lad der 16 asconventional construction in aluminum and magnesium type ladders. Asimilar spacer 46 (FIG. 2) is similarly placed with respect to thebracket 36 on the other side 34 of the ladder 16. Each of the spacers 38and 46 have a depth such that the respective brackets 22 and 36 clearthe sides 26 and 34 of the ladder l6 and are of a width allowingclearance 48 (FIGS. 3 & 4) for guide channel 50 of upper section 52 ofthe ladder 16. The upper section 52 of ladder 16 also has a web 54connecting the guide channel 50 to a rail 56 (FIGS. 1 & 2) insubstantially the form of an I beam which permits the ladder lockingassembly 14 to be of similar construction to the ladder locking assembly10. A slot opening 58 is provided in spacer 38 and similarly in spacer46 for permitting the spacers to move toward the bottom rail such asrail 42 and thereby insuring ample clearance 48 for travel of the upperladder section 52 with respect to the bottom ladder section 28.

The brackets 22 and 36 are fixed in place against the respective spacers38 and 46 by a conventional washer and nut such as the washer 60 and nut62 screwed onto the threaded ends of the bracket rod 25 at respectivesides 26 and 34 of the ladder 16. Leg 64 of the bracket 22 has fixedthereto by a washer 66 and nut 68 an eye bolt 70 to which is detachablyengaged a hook 72 at one end of a turnbuckle rod 74, the other end ofwhich has screw threads 75 and is carried in one end of a turnbuckle 76of a common axis with another turnbuckle rod 7 8 having screw threads 80and carried in the other end of the turnbuckle 76. The other turnbucklerod 78 terminates in a book 82 similar to the hook 72 and engaging aneye screw 84 which has a screw portion 86 fixing it to a woodenfastening member 88 fastened by conventional nails 90 to a sill 92 belowa window 94 of the building 18. The screw threads on one of theturnbuckle rods 74 and 78 are right hand and left hand on the other sothat rotation of the turnbuckle 76 in a selected direction adjusts thedistance between the hooks 72 znd 82. Also, a turnbuckle 76 having alength 96 of about 20 inches and the turnbuckle rods 74 and 78 havinglength of threaded portions 98 Of about 10 inches each has been found toprovide a single ladder locking assembly with a convenient and desirablewide useful range of ladder locking applications.

A similar arrangement of components with brackets 36 combine to form atthe other side 34 of the ladder 16 another ladder locking leg 100similar to the ladder locking leg 20 and similarly engaging a screw eye102 fixed in a similar fastening block 104 nailed to a sill 106 belowanother window of the building 18. The ladder 16 need not be centeredbetween the windows 108 and 94 because the turnbuckle in each of theladder locking legs 20 and 100 may be adjusted to compensate for varyingdistances between the respective brackets 22 and 36 at the sides ofladder 16and the screw eyes 88 and 102.

In operation of the ladder locking assembly 10, the sills 92 and 106selected may be for first floor windows 94 and 108 so that they may bereached for nailing the fastening blocks 88 and 104 without climbing theladder 16. The brackets 22 and 36 are fastened as described above to arung 34 which when the ladderv 16 is in place against the building 18 isat a height above the screw eyes 84 and 102 a sufficient distance suchthat the ladder locking legs 20 and 100 will preferably be in a planesubstantially perpendicular to the ladder 16. The distance between thehooks such as 72 and 82 of the turnbuckle rods is adjusted by rotatingthe respective tumbuckles for mounting to the associated eyes fixed tothe brackets 22 and 36 and sills 92 and 106 so that a firm seating ofthe ladder against the building 18, which in the FIGS. 1 & 2illustration is against gutter 109 of buiding 18, and the terrain 107 isobtained, whereupon the ladder is locked in place for normal use.

To move the ladder 16 to a new location, the tumbuckles in the legs and100 are rotated to loosen and quickly remove the hooks from screw eyes84 and 102 thereby permitting the ladder 16 to be moved to the newlocation where the fastener blocks 88 and 104 may again be similarlynailed to adjacent sills or even to siding 110 of the house 18 ifdesired. The fastener blocks 88 and 104 may in each instance be removedwhen desired by prying away in conventional manner with a claw hammer.

Alternatively, in place of fastening blocks 88 and 104, screw eyes 112and 114 similar to the screw eye 84 may be screwed directly to the sillresting on the concrete foundation 116 of the building 18. In such eventit is convenient to provide screw eyes such as 1 l2 and 118 at suitableintervals around the entire building and left there permanently, inwhich case the brackets of the leg locking assembly 12 my be retainedpermanently in an appropriate rung l 18 for use at any desired locationabout the building 18.

Also alternatively, similar screw eyes 102 and 122 may be screweddirectly into the board 124 below the roof 126 of the building 18. Insuch event the rung 128 at which the ladder locking assembly 14 ismounted is preferably at about the same height as the screw eyes 120 and122 so that the respective ladder locking legs are about parallel withthe terrain 107.

This invention is not limited to the specific details of constructionand operation as equivalents will suggest themselves to those skilled inthe art.

What is claimed is:

1. In a locking assembly for a ladder of the type having two sides andhollow rungs between the sides with each of the two ladder sides havinga pair of rails and connecting web therebetween in the cross sectionalform of substantially an I beam and the hollow rungs having two endswith each rung end fixed to the web adjacent the respective rung end,the combination of a pair of brackets with each of said brackets havinga screw eye; means for fixing one of said pair of brackets in place atone of said sides and the other of said pair of brackets in place at theother of said sides, said means including a bracket rod having two endsand a cross sectional dimension for placing in the hollow of one of saidrungs and being of a length such that said rod ends protrude from therespective sides of the ladder and are adapted for fastening thebrackets at the respective sides of the ladder and including a spacer ateach end of the bracket rod, each spacer having a surface for engagingsaid web and an opposed surface for clearing the associated ladder sideto form a base for the associated bracket; a turnbuckle for each of saidsides, each of said tumbuckles having opposed ends and carrying. in eachrespective turnbuckle end an elongated turnbuckle rod, one of the rodsfor each turnbuckle includes a hook formation for fastening to saidrespective bracket; and means for rapid manual attachment and detachmentof the other rod of each of said tumbuckles to a structure to which saidladder is to be locked.

2.. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said means for rapidattachment and detachment includes a hook formation on the other rod ofeach of said tumbuckles and a pair of eye formations with each eyeformation being for receiving a respective one of said last mentionedhook formations and adapted for fastening to said structure to which theladder is to be locked.

3. The combination as in claim 2 wherein said adaptation for fasteningto said structure is a wood screw formation on said eye formation.

4. The combination as in claim 2 wherein said adaptation for fasteningincludes a rigid member fixed to said eye formation and adapted fornailing to said structure.

1. In a locking assembly for a ladder of the type having two sides andhollow rungs between the sides with each of the two ladder sides havinga pair of rails and connecting web therebetween in the cross sectionalform of substantially an I beam and the hollow rungs having two endswith each rung end fixed to the web adjacent the respective rung end,the combination of a pair of brackets with each of said brackets havinga screw eye; means for fixing one of said pair of brackets in place atone of said sides and the other of said pair of brackets in place at theother of said sides, said means including a bracket rod having two endsand a cross sectional dimension for placing in the hollow of one of saidrungs and being of a length such that said rod ends protrude from therespective sides of the ladder and are adapted for fastening thebrackets at the respective sides of the ladder and including a spacer ateach end of the bracket rod, each spacer having a surface for engagingsaid web and an opposed surface for clearing the associated ladder sideto form a base for the associated bracket; a turnbuckle for each of saidsides, each of said turnbuckles having opposed ends and carrying in eachrespective turnbuckle end an elongated turnbuckle rod, one of the rodsfor each turnbuckle includes a hook formation for fastening to saidrespective bracket; and means for rapid manual attachment and detachmentof the other rod of each of said turnbuckles to a structure to whichsaid ladder is to be locked.
 2. The combination as in claim 1 whereinsaid means for rapid attachment and detachment includes a hook formationon the other rod of each of said turnbuckles and a pair of eyeformations with each eye formation being for receiving a respective oneof said last mentioned hook formations and adapted for fastening to saidstructure to which the ladder is to be locked.
 3. The combination as inclaim 2 wherein said adaptation for fastening to said structure is awood screw formation on said eye formation.
 4. The combination as inclaim 2 wherein said adaptation for fastening includes a rigid memberfixed to said eye formation and adapted for nailing to said structure.